ADB approves $1.5 billion Philippine crisis response loan

In a statement yesterday, the multilateral lender said that the loan will be used to help finance the government’s Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport program.

STAR / File

MANILA, Philippines —  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $1.5-billion loan to help the Philippines address the impact of the Middle East conflict. 

In a statement yesterday, the multilateral lender said that the loan will be used to help finance the government’s Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport  program.

Under UPLIFT, the government is providing financial support to low-income Filipinos affected by rising fuel prices stemming from the Middle East conflict.

Measures include fare discounts, fuel and fertilizer subsidies, as well as medical packages and cash assistance for poor and vulnerable households, public transport operators and drivers, small-scale farmers and fisherfolk.

Apart from helping the government secure fuel supplies and keeping power, health services, food and medicines affordable, the ADB’s support will also be used to provide assistance to returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The financing will be coming from ADB’s Countercyclical Support Facility, a region-wide crisis financing mechanism.

“Every week this crisis continues to ask more of people who have little left to give,” ADB President Masato Kanda said. 

“They have a right to expect that the institutions serving them will meet their struggle with equal resolve. With this financing, we are backing the Philippines’ determination to keep its people secure and its future within its own hands,” he added. 

Last May, Kanda offered $1.75 billion in additional support to President Marcos to help the Philippines respond to the impact of the Middle East tensions on the economy.

As the impact of the Middle East conflict widened the government’s financing needs, the ADB raised the loan amount for an existing health care program last month. 

In particular, the ADB raised the loan amount for the Build Universal Health Care Program Subprogram 3 by $250 million, bringing the total financing to $750 million.

Given the Philippines’ reliance on imports for its fuel and fertilizer needs, the country is vulnerable to sharp increases in global prices. 

The Middle East conflict has also affected the Philippine economy as the region serves as a major destination for OFWs. 

About 1.1 million OFWs were deployed in the Middle East last year. These workers accounted for about 18 percent of the country’s $35.6 billion in total remittances in 2025.

Amid surging fuel prices, the De- partment of Finance has endorsed the suspension of the excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene, but not on diesel and gasoline.